CA_Scouter

I like GWD's idea. Make a reference to the book at every meeting! Use it in every skillbase! Brilliant!

I call 'em CONCUSSION SHOES. I all for small government, and having yet another policy to regulate common sense behavior is just more paperwork to wade through. This is one battle I don't wage. I don't like 'em either, but you simply cannot control everything. Is this the hill you want to die on?

Web site for the Philmont Staff Association is very good. www.philmont.com The Tooth of Time Trading post at Philmont has a web site where you should be able to find historical books, guide books, etc. http://www.toothoftimetraders.com/philmont/ I've done Baldy, and the view is spectacular. Make sure you are in shape when you hike up that little hill, the trails are not your standard switchbacks, they go up at a very steep angle. There is also no water once you leave Copper Park, so hydrate ahead of time and bring plenty. Didn't get to Tooth of Time so I can't compare.

I have a co-worker who is the main techie guy for a major league baseball franchise - he helps the players set up their laptops, home networks, etc. He also collects bats, balls, gloves, etc, some signed, some not. He has offered to get some items for me to sell to raise money for our troop, and he knows that the players might donate even more when he tells them its for a Boy Scout troop. These items, for a collector, may run from $50-500. I'm going to save them up and hold them until our big fundraiser on July 4th, when we put on the parade in our small rural town, and will have a lot

For our High Adventure trips, such as backpacking a week in Yosemite last summer: 1) First Class Rank a) if not First Class, a parent must participate 2) Demonstrated ability in the chosen activity 3) Participation in training hikes We put in requirement 1 so if the scout had a problem, we would have sufficient adult coverage should he have to leave mid-hike. It also gives them motivation to learn the NECESSARY skills for High Adventure activities. We are also fortunate to have well behaved Scouts, so that's not been an issue. If it was, we'd have addressed it with

Question... can an Eagle project be done for your sponsoring organization? We are sponsered by the local firefighters association, could an Eagle candidate do a project for the firehouse itself?

We strongly push LNT on every campout, backpacking, car-camping, whatever. We've even taken to reciting the 7 LNT principles during our meeting once a month, after we do the oath, laws, outdoor code, etc... With regard to bias, we did a backpack trip in Yosemite last year and ran into a very snotty and rude rangerette at the Wilderness Permit center ( I think I posted here about that )., however, rangers I met on the trail couldn't be nicer. Go figure. FYI - REI has a LNT program. Its geared to 6-12 yr olds, but I'm thinking of asking them to come by anyway as I'm sure they can add

Odd on the timing of this thread getting re-started... Exactly one year ago this week, we lost a scout in a pedestrian -vs- car traffic accident. The family asked me to speak at the ceremony and every scout in the troop, along with nearly every family member, attended the memorial service ( despite it being in the middle of the week ). After I spoke, the troop stood at attention, and gave our scout a final salute. It was very fitting, dignified and respectful, and I'm fortunate that I didn't fall down in a heap on the floor in the middle of it. :-( Speak to the family to

Watching the news last night, I also saw adults scouters in the cathedral in uniform. I assume all in the cathedral were invited guests... wonder who they were?

Found this quote on CNN Richard Routten of Hampton, Virginia President Ford will always hold a special place in my heart simply due to the fact that he was an Eagle Scout, and when I received my Eagle Scout in April 1975 it is his signature that is on my certificate. Wherever I have lived, the framed certificate has hung in my house and I am very honored that I made Eagle Scout during his tenure as President. =============================================== Actually, I think that's the case with me too! I'll have to check it out when I get home to see if I've got his signatur

Scout photo is on the main cnn page right now. www.cnn.com Not sure how long it will stay there though...

The other thing about REI is that they have a 100% guarantee policy. I bought a pair of Vasque boots earlier this year, used them a few times ( including a week in Yosemite ) and they gave me minor blisters each time. I returned them, REI gave me full credit ( include a 20% discount coupon I had used for the original purchase ) and I got a pair of Montrail boots, which have worked out famously. So you really have nothing to lose by going to REI. ALSO - If you call their corporate number, you can register your troop and get a 10% discount. Sometimes, if you go directly to the stor

Yes, M, stars are arranged 8-7-8-7-8. We don't know who donated it. We are checking the address on the box we believe it came in to see if any of those persons might know the origin of the flag. We really don't think they knew what they were giving away. Finally, here is a short write up our committee chair put together about the flag. ======================================================== Each year Troop 460 conducts a flag retirement ceremony to respectfully retire worn and tattered US Flags. Flags are donated from various community organizations, government offices,

We recently solicited donations of US flags for retirement. As we practiced/prepared for the ceremony, we opened one of the boxes and came across an unusual flag. The flag was large ( 9x18 ), made of linen, was significantly faded, and ( get this ) it had only 38 stars on it! Upon examination by one of the adults, she could tell that it was sewn with a foot pedal type sewing machine, the stars were hand-stitched on, both front and back, and various hand-stitched repairs had been made on it in the past. She did some research and found that the flag had 38 stars when Colorado was a

I was watching the news last night ( forgot which network ) and they were talking about how in the 25 years he was in Congress, despite all the dealings, fights, arguments, that would inevitably happen, that: Gerald Ford never made an enemy. Now THAT'S a scout-like attitude!

We had similar problems in the past. Hot dogs, no dogs, pop tarts, general junk food type stuff, though they didn't argue quite as much as the original posters troop. I started out by mandating a dutch oven meal on one campout, and then provided them with about 5 different recipies to choose from. That worked out really well, so we progressed to any kind of cooking but ASM/Patrol Advisor approval was needed on the menu, that way we avoided the all-junk food syndrome. All the while, the adults have cooked up wonderful feasts on their own ( stews, coconut shrimp, even a dutch oven pr

We rent a Forest Service cabin once a year, and we'll bring up DVD's and Monopoly for the evening program, but we also do a cooking contest between the patrols. Meals are judged on nutritition, creativity and presentation, and the scouts really seem to get into it. Winning patrol doesn't have to clean their dishes, the other patrol(s) chip in and do it. For our winter campout last year, we rented snowshoes and took 'em on a short hike. It turned out to be short because one of my ASM's started a snowball fight, and we ended up doing that for one and half hours! ( the downside, of cours

M... you forgot to add the '.. in my opinion ..' part! Opinions are like belly buttons. We all have 'em and we all don't have any use for 'em. Well, except for some of us Scouters.. we often use the lint that's collected there for firebuilding demonstrations. :-)

Ed.. excellent. That's the point. Nobody would know or care. The goal is to collect food for the needy. Gonzo... I submit to you that the media is the opiate of the masses. We all know people who base their opinions on headlines only, without examining the content/truth of what's being written, and who take the media at their word. To those people, the media is useful as a tool. To those who believe the media sometimes has an agenda ( oh, perish the thought! ), the ALL MEDIA IS ENTERTAINMENT mantra is accurate. I am also ok with all groups being 100 feet from the door, includi

E, You can always contribute. We went to a summer camp run by the Santa Clara County council, and the senior statesman for that camp had been in BSA for something like 60 years! He was in his mid to late eighties, and still spent most of his summers at the camp. He actually handled most of the adult training sessions, and was especially proficient at demonstrating and explaining the Troopmaster software. The last thing we expected from this guy was to pull out a state of the art laptop, popup Excel spreadsheets and skillfully maneuver through the software. The Staff held him

Gonzo... remember, ALL MEDIA IS ENTERTAINMENT! All - So what if a gay atheist wanted to donate to the Scout's food drive?

Beav, Just having some fun. I'm marginally smart enough to know the reasons for the Dems victory... ;-) I guess I'm kinda impressed how a couple of 12 year old Boy Scouts can influence an election and strike fear in the heart of the City Clerk.

"...but as of Tuesday, I don't think "liberal" is a dirty word any more. " As Jimmy Carter is rumored to have said upon his election: 'Ya'll have the accent now!'

Hmmm, I guess those Boy Scouts collecting food for the needy could certainly influence the election results. Call me silly, but its certainly possible! I like the comment about the 'oath'. I guess its the 'do my duty to God and my country' ( how horribly evil is that! My goodness! ). Thankfully, we have no other references to God in our government ( people have been saying it wrong all along.. its 'one nation, under Bob' ). I think the Democrats stole the election anyway. Who is with me on this?

...and our skillbase for this coming Monday is GUESS WHAT? We planted a geocache last year ( Looney Dam View on www.geocaching.com ) , and found several more. WE just planted another one a couple of weeks ago and at the skillbase this Monday we'll record that and lookup the posts of all those who found our previous cache. We've had a lot of fun with this, and the Scouts come up with all kinds of stuff to put in the box. It adds additional dimensions to our backpacking trips and makes the day hikes more interesting. We don't have internet access at our meeting place, so I'm gon